Ouroboros Spine foxfire

Nuak had never heard of such a thing as a mountain falling. He had no concept of mountains until this place. The thought of one coming apart and being gone — he could not fathom it, and so took that grain of her story and let it fall away.

Her losses were similar to his own. It was unfortunate then, that all of his losses occurred before he could truly comprehend them. He could not empathize. As far as Nuak was concerned he had nobody but himself to worry over; her sadness was, therefore, far removed from him.

You are not my mother. The boy counters. My mother — What could he say? A dark look crossed his face, transmuted it from the look of wonder he'd held for the boars and the curious concentration on his face when he'd been thinking; now he looked raw, empty. I have no-one.

Mother, father, brother — gone. It didn't hurt him to know this, although thoughts of Astyanax brought a deep jealousy to his heart. What would it matter to this woman, though, this stranger? She had no reason to care for him.

Nuak fell to silence then. He was comfortable there unlike the moon woman, and while she quietly wept he resumed his hunt through the grass.